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Philippe Ariès

Born

in Blois, France

July 21, 1914

Died

February 08, 1984

Genre

History

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Philippe Ariès (21 July 1914 – 8 February 1984) was a French medievalist and historian of the family and childhood, in the style of Georges Duby. He wrote many books on the common daily life. His most prominent works regarded the change in the western attitudes towards death.

Ariès regarded himself as an "anarchist of the right". He was initially close to the Action française but later distanced himself from it, as he viewed it as too authoritarian, hence his self-description as an "anarchist". Ariès also contributed to La Nation française, a royalist review. However, he also co-operated with many left-wing French historians, especially with Michel Foucault, who wrote his obituary.

During his life, his work was often better known in the Engli Philippe Ariès (21 July 1914 – 8 February 1984) was a French medievalist and historian of the family and childhood, in the style of Georges Duby. He wrote many books on the common daily life. His most prominent works regarded the change in the western attitudes towards death.

Ariès regarded himself as an "anarchist of the right". He was initially close to the Action française but later distanced himself from it, as he viewed it as too authoritarian, hence his self-description as an "anarchist". Ariès also contributed to La Nation française, a royalist review. However, he also co-operated with many left-wing French historians, especially with Michel Foucault, who wrote his obituary.

During his life, his work was often better known in the English-speaking world than it was in France itself. He is known above all for his book L’Enfant et la Vie Familiale sous l’Ancien Régime (1960), which was translated into English as Centuries of Childhood (1962). This book is pre-eminent in the history of childhood, as it was essentially the first book on the subject (although some antiquarian texts were earlier). Even today, Ariès remains the standard reference to the topic. Ariès is most famous for his statement that "in medieval society, the idea of childhood did not exist". Its central thesis is that attitudes towards children were progressive and evolved over time with economic change and social advancement, until childhood, as a concept and an accepted part of family life, from the 17th century. It was thought that children were too weak to be counted and that they could disappear at any time. However, children were considered as adults as soon as they could live alone.

The book has had mixed fortunes. His contribution was profoundly significant both in that it recognised childhood as a social construction rather than as a biological given and in that it founded the history of childhood as a serious field of study. At the same time, his account of childhood has by now been widely criticised.

Ariès is likewise remembered for his invention of another field of study: the history of attitudes to death and dying. Ariès saw death, like childhood, as a social construction. His seminal work in this ambit is L'Homme devant la mort (1977), his last major book, published in the same year when his status as a historian was finally recognised by his induction into the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), as a directeur d'études. ...more

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Philippe Ariès’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 4,913 ratings · 430 reviews · 92 distinct works • Similar authors

	A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium by Philippe Ariès (Editor), Paul Veyne (Editor), Georges Duby (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,257 ratings — published 1985 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Western Attitudes Toward Death: From the Middle Ages to the Present 3.83 avg rating — 1,207 ratings — published 1974 — 43 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hour of Our Death by Philippe Ariès, Helen Weaver (Translator) 4.16 avg rating — 665 ratings — published 1977 — 47 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Revelations of the Medieval World (A History of Private Life, #2) by Philippe Ariès (Editor), Georges Duby (Editor), Arthur Goldhammer (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 3.99 avg rating — 604 ratings — published 1985 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life 3.69 avg rating — 460 ratings — published 1960 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Passions of the Renaissance (A History of Private Life, #3) by Philippe Ariès (Editor), Roger Chartier (Editor), Georges Duby (Editor) 3.97 avg rating — 235 ratings — published 1986 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From the Fires of Revolution to the Great War (A History of Private Life, #4) by Philippe Ariès (Editor), Georges Duby 4.06 avg rating — 227 ratings — published 1987 — 33 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Riddles of Identity in Modern Times (A History of Private Life, #5) by Philippe Ariès (Editor), Georges Duby (Editor), Antoine Prost (Editor) 3.94 avg rating — 129 ratings — published 1985 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Amour et sexualité en Occident by Philippe Ariès, Jean Bottéro, Guy Chaussinand-Nogaret 3.92 avg rating — 62 ratings — published 1982 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Images of Man and Death by Philippe Ariès, PHILLIPPE ARIES, Janet Lloyd (Translator) 3.93 avg rating — 29 ratings — published 1983 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Philippe Ariès…

Series by Philippe Ariès

A History of Private Life (5 books)
by

Philippe Ariès (Editor),

Georges Duby (Editor),

Antoine Prost (Editor),

Michelle Perrot (Editor),

Gerard Vincent (Editor),

Arthur Goldhammer (Goodreads Author) (Translator)

4.00 avg rating — 2,452 ratings

Historia de la vida privada en 10 tomos (10 books)
by

Philippe Ariès (Editor),

Georges Duby (Editor)

3.99 avg rating — 2,244 ratings

L'homme devant la mort (2 books)
by

Philippe Ariès

4.15 avg rating — 717 ratings

Quotes by Philippe Ariès (?)

“A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty.”
― Philippe Ariès

2356 likes

“A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty. But one no longer has the right to say so aloud.”
― Philippe Ariès, Western Attitudes Toward Death: From the Middle Ages to the Present

tags: death-and-dying

17 likes

“Too evident sorrow does not inspire pity but repugnance, it is the sign of mental instability or of bad manners: it is morbid.”
― Philippe Ariès, Western Attitudes Toward Death: From the Middle Ages to the Present

tags: death-and-dying

4 likes

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Philippe Ariès’s Followers (123)

Philippe Ariès

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Philippe Ariès’s books